Happy
by MiyuWrites
Summary: Happy is a hellcat. He's good at his work but his latest mission might be more than he can take. FT BigBang 2019. Natsu/Gray
1. Welcome to the Underworld

**Happy**

The sun was rising, the large hourglass that was on the wall of the main hall gave its customary turn.

A new day began in the Underworld.

Happy placed the tray with his breakfast on the rough stone table before sitting with his friends. Fish and milk, that morning. How surprising…

Happy was a hellcat.

Some hellcats had the task of collecting the souls of the deceased and to take them to the underworld. However there were many kinds of positions for hellcats. That didn't mean that only hellcats composed the Underworld, no, but they were the ones in larger quantity and did have a working hierarchy under the King of the Underworld.

At the bottom of the hierarchy there were the soul collectors, who had the task of collecting the souls and to take them to the néant.

Soul collectors worked in teams too, and Happy was lucky that he could be with his friends. They were a bit of a diverse group, both ready to put the others in trouble or to stand beside them when things turned bad. Yes, they'd been through a lot already.

And what an eclectic mix they were with Happy, Carla, Panther Lily, Lector and Frosch. They had a certain reputation in the Underworld too. Mostly with both the guards and tribune workers – which was understandable as they interacted more with them.

Because the hierarchy for hellcats had five different levels. And, the higher the level in the hierarchy, the less cat-like would the hellcat be. The opposite worked too as, the lower the position in the hierarchy, more cat-like would they be.

So, at the bottom were the soul collectors. These were very cat-like hellcats. They had a lot of work to do and possessed some magic that would allow them to become invisible in the mid-world or acquire any shape they wanted.

Next came the tribune workers and the guards. The tribune workers' main occupation was to take the souls to the right places. They were intermediates. And the guards were there to enforce the King's law, as well as to make all the processes happen without much trouble. There were some souls that could be quite feisty and so the guards would have the competences to take better care of them.

Next came the organizers and transporters. The organizers, as expected, organized things. Worked on the bureaucracy and made the hard work that would facilitate the soul's judging. And with them were the transporters who took the souls to their resting places, after the judging. Be it in the Underworld or the Overworld.

The judges presided the weighing of the souls and they were the ones who vocalized the decision as to where the soul would remain for eternity.

And at the top came the advisors to the king who would sometimes act as ministers and be responsible for some area, if the King so decided. This class of the hierarchy was the one that had a more human-like semblance and they were fairly powerful and wise.

The Underworld was a complex place – it was easy for one lone soul to get lost – as there were many layers to it too.

In the first layer, which was called le néant, was the void. It was an empty place where the soul collectors left the new souls, waiting for their turn to be judged.

The second layer was called le circle and it was heavily populated by the hellcats. In it, the most important structure was the tribunal, the very important place where the weighing of the souls took place. The souls, which from the reaping and their stay in the néant had a puffy cloud-like shape, would acquire the mortal shape of their owners for the weighing.

The third layer was very important, la cour, because that was where the royal court was held. It was in this one layer that the King lived too. It also housed the more bureaucratic positions to the hellcats.

Finally, the fourth layer, la profondeur, was the deepest and the actual place for bad souls to be placed. It has in itself three subsections.

Autem was the place where a large river flowed. It was for the souls who were tainted so that they couldn't live in the fields of gold but not so bad as to earn the worst kind of eternal damnation. Thus the souls in autem floated in the river and were condemned to see their failures over and over again.

Duo was the next level and there was no more water in there. It was dry and warm, filled with jagged rocks and unending cliffs and abysses, expanding infinitely both up and down. It was what was considered the middle area. It was the place for people whose soul was up to half tainted by the person's misdeeds. It was the place for the fire and brimstone, for the physical torture and where the lesser demons – which were creatures that were indigenous to only that area – did those acts. Duo was divided in smaller areas and the souls would be thrown to each area according to the darkness in them. The brutality of the torture would increase the darker it got. And no matter how bad the treatment to a soul was, when the hourglass that ruled the Underworld turned, the soul would be intact and ready for a new day of torture.

Finally, tribus was the lower level of la profondeur. It was the place that was reserved for the worst types of souls. The ones where the taint permeated most of the soul. It was the place for the ultimate punishment. Because souls were sentient, they had awareness and so they were locked away in solitary confinement. And whenever one soul was getting too lost, the hellcats would bring them back to awareness and so the cycle continued.

Every now and then, the hellcats teams would rotate through the various layers of the underworld. Because, there was the possibility for a hellcat to climb in the hierarchy so the King had it so that the lower levels learned more.

Happy didn't have a problem with the King. He had been ruling the Underworld since the great Guerre de la Désordre and, in Happy's opinion, doing a good job.

It had been King Lyon who had ended the war and set the laws that were now in place. It had also been thanks to him that the hierarchy for the hellcats had been created.

Happy gnawed distractedly on his fish. It was his favourite food but wasn't tasting all that well to him. His team had finished a rotation on duo and, as usual, it was being a bit difficult for him to adjust. It was always hard to adjust after all the screaming. Of course that it was slightly better than the heavy silence from tribus. That one clung to his fur and it felt like he couldn't scrub it clean. Not until too many showers. And Happy wasn't the biggest fan of showers.

So, he was still adjusting. And being back with his team in the main hall was a good help as his friends were always fun and a good distraction. A good way to return to normalcy.

The fact that their team was going to return to usual soul collector stuff was also something for him to look forward to.

He took his time finishing his fish, trying to find some motivation in the food. However, contrary to the usual, the food didn't brighten his mood. Or comfort him all that much.

He didn't even notice that his friends had paused in their conversations, and were looking at him, expectantly. Only after Carla's elbow to his side did he snap out of his musings.

"What?" he asked in confusion.

"I said, are we ready to go get the missions?" Carla repeated her question.

"Oh. That, yes. Let's do it." Happy said as he stood and held his tray. His friends followed, a bit slower but with an air of strangeness around them.

"Sorry, I was just thinking." Happy said after they left the hall and were heading to the Portal des Missions, the place where both tribune workers and organizers battled paper bureaucracy on a daily basis – and came to the other side with the missions necessary to hand to the soul collectors.

"It's not like you… to think." Panther Lily said teasingly and trying to get a rise of Happy.

"Ah. Ah… shut up!" Happy threw his tongue out.

"Someone can't take the truth…" Lector said from behind them and that set Frosch into a fit of giggles.

"We're here for you. We're your friends." Carla continued. "We've all noticed how weird you get after we come from la profondeur. It's not easy for any of us. But you have to talk to us too. Okay?"

"I know that." Happy replied, a bit of a snap to his tone. But he caught himself and repeated, softly, "I do know that."

"Come. Let's go see Marl, she'll have something for us. We need to get busy." Carla said encouragingly.

The five friends waited in line with the other soul collectors who were waiting for their missions. When they finally got there they were welcomed by the happy tribune worker.

"Good morning, my dears. How are you all today?" she asked as she rummaged through the stacks of files. "Aaand here are your missions for the day." She said as she handed out the files to each hellcat. "Good luck today."

"Thanks." Lector called out above his shoulder as they started heading out.

The team of soul collectors caught the vortex portal that led them to the place of their mission.

As soon as they emerged, invisible, they were faced with a scenario of destruction.

"What was this?" Panther Lily asked surveying the area.

"Looks like a big earthquake." Lector answered.

"And it looks like we have a lot of work ahead of us." Carla stated with a sigh.

The five hellcats split up then. Each going their separate ways, quickly coming in and out of the vortex and being momentarily followed by the small ball of energy that the souls were.

They worked tirelessly and before long their shift was over – and so was their work.

All the souls that needed collecting had been led to the néant.

And the team had assembled back in the mess hall to have their evening meal.

Happy was feeling much better now, after having spent the whole day busy with work. It had felt good to be above ground, feeling the breeze ruffle his hair as he came to and fro the vortex. The soft glows of the souls had been a good way for his balance to return.

They were silent, wiggly clouds that floated beside him as he flew above the desolation, as he crossed one of his friends who was equally accompanied.

Happy sat at the rough stone table, his tray filled with a big serving of fish and waiting for his friends. They seemed to be taking their time to get to their table and Happy sighed. Well, a new day was done.

Thankfully it had gone better than the previous set of shifts. They still clung to his consciousness. He just would never feel comfortable being stationed in tribus, that he knew.

His friends were too slow and as they got to the table Happy was about to get up and leave. Time to get to his quarters.

"Happy," a voice called, coming from a sconce that just opened in the wall. "Come."

Happy looked at his friends before squaring his shoulders and heading to the darkness of the sconce.

You have a new mission.

* * *

**A/N:** Written for the FT big bang on tumblr.

A big thank you to Selenba for the amazing art (I'll update this).  
To mdelpin and becausesin my deepest thanks for the beta. Though the remaining mistakes are all mine.  
Go read the other big bang entries, I guess?


	2. A Mission

**A/N:** Not like anyone gives a toss but here's the next chapter.

* * *

Chapter 2 - The Mission

_Happy had crossed several corridors, flying behind the hooded figure._

_It was unexpected. Why was he being called so soon after finishing the mission? Why after his shift? Why was he being led through the maze-like corridors to one of the many rooms of the organizers?_

_It wasn't a common occurrence, to his knowledge._

_Still, he couldn't help but be brimming with curiosity._

_He entered the small cubicle, filled with stacks of paper and, much to his surprise, there was a folder with his name sitting on top of the table._

_It couldn't be!_

_Could it?_

* * *

A _mission_.

For Happy to do all by himself.

He could barely believe it. Same with his friends. It has been received with some surprise.

And so, Happy was on it.

According to the basic parameters it was a somewhat long mission. Which meant that the soul had some significance and needed to be monitored closely.

Not many soul collectors went in these missions. They were special.

Also, many called them the promotion missions as the higher ups would follow the hellcat's behaviour and decide if the hellcat was ready to climb a level in the hierarchy.

Could this be it?

Happy hoped so.

Even though… there was a strange tightening in his belly. But those were just nerves, of course.

So here he was now, curled pitifully in the rain, donning his _regular cat_ appearance – it wouldn't quite do to look different from the household cat – and being overall unhappy.

This first phase of the plan wasn't all that nice for him.

And he did hope this one _Natsu Dragneel_ would do the favour to appear quickly.

Rain and fur didn't quite feel nice together…

Noise made one of his ear perk and he glanced to the corner from which it had been issued.

Feet.

And the right scent too.

Happy could hear muttered grumbles and he was, by then, sure that his target was the one approaching.

As the feet stated to walk by the bushes, Happy started to mewl. The feet stopped. Happy continued mewling and hands parted the piece of greenery.

"What the-?" the voice said as rain started to fall back right on top of Happy's head. It was freezing.

Happy looked up into a face that held a surprised expression. The flash of pink hair also corresponded to the markers he'd been given and a sense of accomplishment filled him. Happy gave a few more mewls for good measure. Slightly calloused hands hurried to pick him, gently.

"What are you doing out here, in the cold, kitty?" Natsu asked as he tried to shelter Happy by putting him under his soaked jacket. "This isn't good for you. Let me take you somewhere warm and dry." Natsu started to walk towards the building as he talked nonsense at Happy. When he caught himself, he mumbled, "I can't believe I'm talking to a cat. It's not like they can respond."

Happy, who was basking in the warmth and petting, had to catch himself before he rolled his eyes.

_If only you knew_… he wanted to answer.

Before long they were inside the flat. It was warm and Happy was placed on a table before Natsu hurried through a darkened hall – probably to change clothes and to get a towel.

That gave Happy the chance to take a look around.

It was a normal flat, the small hall led to some doors and Happy had, apparently, been placed on a table in the living room. It was... a bit strange. There was a mix of books, clothes, a few food containers that had been left in the space. It wasn't overly chaotic but not very tidy either.

_Youths_… Happy thought.

He would've continued his inspection, maybe to the point of jumping from the table, but he heard Natsu approaching. And then he remembered. Wet hair.

He shook himself right on time of Natsu getting to stand beside him and to cover him with a towel.

"There you go, you fur ball." Natsu said, and Happy seemed to hear some amusement in his voice. "Time to get dry." And he started to pat Happy dry, letting Happy help him with the endeavour as he started to lick his paws too.

In no time Happy had been placed on the comfortable sofa, still in the form of a blanket burrito but feeling much better overall.

"Oh, I just noticed that I don't have food for you." Natsu said suddenly. "I'll be right back," he said as he rushed to the hallway once again. "You sit still, okay?"

Happy just turned to look at him before yawning.

Apparently Natsu took that as a yes because he took off. The front door closing instants later.

Happy just cuddled more inside the fluffy blanket and closed his eyes.

He could get used to this…

* * *

Natsu woke up early, as was his usual. He was expecting to see the rays of sunshine to be filtering through his curtain and blinds but was only met with greyness when he opened his eyes.

And then it reached him. Rain.

It was raining again.

Natsu knew that it was important but, sunshine was so much better overall. And with rain the cold would come and it was a big bore.

Being warm was much better. That was why sometimes he wouldn't mind staying in bed for a bit after he woke up. He wouldn't fall asleep, no, he was an early bird, but sometimes he would get slightly lazy and just stay there.

As he was feeling on doing on that rainy morning too. He stretched under the covers and paused. There was a weight that wasn't supposed to be in there…

Natsu rose to his elbows and looked down.

At his feet was the cat. Its fur was an odd grey, seemed blue actually, and it was curled into a ball at his feet.

Natsu smiled as he sat up. And thought a bit about the previous afternoon. He'd come home straight from uni – the electrochem lab had gone quite well – and he had wanted to get home before the rain started falling. He had failed massively as the sky had started pouring as he was entering his street and he'd gotten sodden wet in instants. And then he'd found it.

A small furry ball mewling pitifully. Natsu couldn't have left it there.

So now he had a cat.

It was a bit different, waking up with company at his feet.

Fortunately he'd bought all the things that he might need in his impromptu grocery run. They'd had a cat too, long time ago at Igneel's. And Natsu still remembered the basics. It was a good thing he'd done it the previous night too. Since he was going to have to work after his classes, at least the cat was going to be taken care for.

Natsu found himself petting the cat distractedly. Its fur was so soft now and it was purring happily. The cat nuzzled its snout against Natsu's hand and mewled as Natsu petted the furry belly. A Russian blue cat, it seemed.

"Hey, you're male." Natsu said as he held the cat high. "Now, what should I call you?" he asked the room. The cat just looked back at him, of course that the cat wasn't going to answer that one for him. Natsu gave a small snort to himself. But then he looked at the cat again and a word seemed to form in his mind. "You're quite the happy cat now. And I guess that's what I'll call you. Happy."

He got a mewl in what seemed to be answer. Natsu gave a short laugh before petting the cat in its head and getting up. He stretched and headed to the bathroom to take a shower. His day was beginning.

* * *

"No way! You're seeing this from the wrong side. It's not-" Natsu's voice boomed across the corridor, echoing through the building.

"You're the one in the wrong, dumbass. Don't you see that this hypothesis is the one that makes more sense. The math-" a new voice replied.

"Shut up with the math. It doesn't have anything to do in here." Natsu said in a gruff voice.

"The math is _all _that makes _sense_ in here!" There was exasperation in the new voice.

"No it's not!"

The door to the apartment opened and closed with a bang. Happy started cleaning his paw, though his whole attention was focused on the pink haired youth that had entered the house. Natsu was fuming – stomping his way into the house. Dropping his jacket by the door, throwing his messenger bag into the sofa as he threw himself onto it, arms crossed. He was frowning deeply and grumbling under his breath.

Happy stretched and yawned, a great yawn. Purring slightly as he jumped into the sofa and made his way to Natsu's lap. The young man started to pet him in the head, scratching under his chin, hand running down the length of his body. Happy looked up at Natsu, eyes wide and unfathomable. He waited.

He didn't have to wait for long before Natsu let out a sigh. He closed his eyes and tilted his head back.

"Do you know? I have this friend who's pretty dumb." He told Happy.

The cat climbed up to his chest and started kneading on his shirt. Seemingly getting comfy to listen to more.

"He looks at things the wrong way. And he's so stubborn!" Natsu started, fingers slowly petting the small head. "He won't accept that other people may have a good reason to look at things from other perspective. In chemistry we also make things work. And there's logic to it. No need for everything to be glorified math. Glorified applied math." Natsu harrumphed and scoffed. "All the glorified math."

Happy made an inquiring purr and was quickly petted. Natsu continuing to scoff at his thoughts. But no longer saying words.

_This is interesting…_ Happy thought. _Who can be this Gray person who's making Natsu react like this?_

It was, decidedly a good reason for him to explore more.

More so when Natsu kept grumbling, at odd times, and cursing Gray.

Happy watched amusedly as they had a heated continuation of their discussion via texts which ended with Natsu making a really silly video and sending it to Gray. The reply was on the same level, the insults they exchanged becoming dumber and dumber before Gray called Natsu and they started talking. Normally.

Happy watched everything, transfixed and amused. How could these two be so mercurial?

In one moment they were at each other's throats and on the next they were sorting out the time to meet the next day for a videogame marathon.

It was beyond interesting. It was _fun_.

* * *

Happy didn't take long to find a rhythm with Natsu. During the day he would follow Natsu to his classes and labs – the pink haired youth had a certain affinity towards fire that seemed to be notorious among his peers – and to when he was with his friends. During the evenings Natsu would prefer to stay at home, with Happy, and talking to his father either on the computer or the phone. He did play with Happy, treat him well and spoiling him. If all the housecats were treated like Happy was being treated, things would be great.

After the first few nights where Natsu was just at home and watching TV or playing some videogames, Happy heard him on the phone.

"Yeah. I'll be there right away." Natsu said as he nodded absently at the wall. With a click to the device, Natsu looked at Happy. "Looks like you're going to have to be alone for a bit, Happy. Gray was calling me for another round of his new game."

Happy waited a beat before he meowed dutifully. The common cat indeed. With the right amount of questioning in his mewl to prompt an answer.

"It's the latest adventure game in this really geeky series Gray has been following. He's such a nerd." Then Natsu paused and seemed to catch himself. "Why the hell am I answering to my cat? Okay, I'll be going now. See you in a bit, Happy!"

And soon after the door was closing.

Happy took his time stretching. He jumped to the floor, the common cat skin falling and his usual brilliant blue fur and the tiny black wings stood in its place. Happy flapped his wings and started hovering above the back of the sofa.

"_Indespectus_," he said in a low voice. Instantly he became invisible and was flying out the house, passing through walls as he flew towards Gray's home. It was just on the floor above theirs too.

Happy got there right as Gray was welcoming Natsu into his home. The two were, as Happy was starting to realize, exchanging their customary insults.

"Ready to lose?" Were Natsu's first words. Gray stood there looking at him before laughing and slapping Natsu on the back.

"As if! You're the one who doesn't stand a chance!"

The due headed towards the living room where the large screen was already playing the title song. It was something seemingly too cheery, which had Happy tilting his head slightly to the side in confusion.

Happy settled on the back of the sofa, still in his invisible form, and between the two friends. He had a good vantage point not only of the screen but also of the two humans.

Said humans were sitting and holding the controls, already choosing their characters. And, given their words, the two had already been playing the series as they had their favourite characters. Happy had to smother a laugh when he remembered Natsu's comment of Gray being a nerd. They were just the _same_.

The blue cat settled more comfortably on the back of the sofa and waited. He looked, interested, as Natsu chose a character that wielded fire at the same time that Gray chose one wielding ice.

_Curious…_

And suddenly, it was _on_.

And so were the curses and nudges and attempts to make the other fail.

The rest of the evening and early hours of night were spent like that. At one point, they brought food to the coffee table and time was split between the game, the food and the attempt to steal from the other's place. Towards the early hours of the night the game was forgotten as the humans found themselves on the floor in a mock fight.

When Natsu finally descended the stairs to get home, he had a huge smile on his face and was humming the theme song of the game distractedly.

Happy was back at home and in his common cat skin before him, ready to brush himself against the human's legs right as he got inside. He was surprised at being picked up and hugged before Natsu placed him back on the floor and went to get ready for bed.

_Looks like these nights with Gray are good for him_. He mused before heading to the bedroom himself.


	3. Development

**Chapter 3 - Development**

Nearly a month had passed since Happy had begun his mission. And Happy was feeling attached. He knew that this could be the risk of long missions like his but it was hard to stop caring about Natsu and his friends.

Because, yes, Happy had met the closest friends of his charge.

There was Gray, who was Natsu's absolute best friend. They had as much fun getting along as they had fighting. And one never knew how things were going to go when the two were in the room.

Then there was Erza. She was slightly older and seemed to be like a big sister to Natsu. She'd be the first person he would call when he had some problems with the university work. From what Happy had gathered, she had been a bit of a mentor to him, since he'd started his degree. Their relationship was very strong and she could be scary sometimes. But she was always really sweet towards Happy and Happy did enjoy it. Her pets were amazing and he found himself purring really loudly. Those were also the few instances where Erza would let out a cute giggle. Apparently it was a big surprise to the others.

Finally, there was Levy. She was a bit of an odd person. She loved books and animals and so she became Happy's biggest fan as soon as she set eyes on him. She sometimes broke Natsu and Gray's big tirades about those slightly awful things they studied with the random comment from her area, Biology, of how certain aspects had evolved like such. At those points Natsu and Gray would always scrunch up their noses in disgust while Happy listened avidly. It was very interesting to see how humans had deconstructed things with their unusual means. The shock of the two was usually softened when Levy would bring back a new idea of something she'd read in her latest book.

The group had been meeting more often in their building, the cold was getting worse outside – as rain had begun to turn to snow – so the friends got together during the weekends and spent the days like that, together. The girls would get to one of the boys' houses, the other would get there and, if it was at Natsu's then Happy would stay in there and play with the humans, if it was at Gray's he would also attend, but in his invisible form. And the friends spent the days in several different sets of time. There was time for study, to prepare and consume food, to play, to go out shopping. Happy could see how deep the relationships between the four humans were. And they were also starting to extend to him too.

He felt cherished.

It was in such a weekend day – a Saturday, to be precise – that things changed.

Natsu and Levy were in the kitchen.

Levy was chopping some vegetables while Natsu was at the stove, heating up a pan and yelling at Gray to "get your ass in here, right now!". Happy was perched on top of the fridge and taking in everything. It was also going normally, there was music floating around the flat and Erza's voice coming from the living as she joined the singer. Gray was laughing at something that Natsu was teasing him about and Levy joined in on it.

Something made Happy focus momentarily on Natsu. It was as he was looking at him so closely that Happy saw it. A small white flare that surrounded Natsu for an instant. It wasn't noticeable to human's eyes but to a hellcat, it was clear as day.

Happy took in a deep breath. This was it. The illness was beginning.

* * *

A few days after that, as Natsu was in one of his morning labs, Happy had a visit.

Carla appeared outside the window of Natsu's bedroom. She knocked to get Happy's attention from where he was sunbathing and dozing on the bed in a perfect stripe of sun. Seeing his friend made Happy instantly get into his hellcat skin and crossing the window, floating beside his friend.

"What are you doing here, Carla?" he asked the obvious.

"I came to check on you, of course." She replied in that was that was so hers. "And," she floated closer and lowered her voice to a conspiratory tone"to bring you the latest news from the Underworld."

Happy's ears perked at that. If Carla came all the way to him, then something had to be going on.

"Okay. Let's go to the park and you can tell me everything." Happy said as he became invisible and started flying towards the large expanse of green near the building. Happy hummed as he flew, away from weight, worry and duty. Because when he flew, he _was_.

The two hellcats sat on the top branches of a tree and had a good view of the park, of the lazy river that almost didn't seem to flow due to the ice that was forming at its surface. The sun was warm on their fur and the gentle breeze made them sway a little.

"So, what news do you bring?" Happy asked finally.

"There's a lot going in the Underworld." Carla went straight to the point. "Or, there have been some weird rumours, about strange things happening."

"What do you mean?" Happy asked, leaning forward to her, the beginning of a frown surrounding his eyes.

"Looks like some things in the machine haven't been working so well." Carla replied, leaning forward too. They sometimes called the whole Underworld hierarchy "the machine" as everything was so well-organized and all the parts made the whole work. "Some elements in le circle and la cour have been failing. Mostly in the bureaucratic side."

"But… papers _are_ annoying, Carla."

"Yes but you know as well as I do that a lot of what we do produces them. And those paper-pushers do keep things in order too." She threw a meaningful look at him.

"So, what? Some papers have gone missing?" Happy said, ignoring the look.

"Not just that. Archives and the hellcat serving them." She said in a near hiss. "And some tribune workers and organizers too."

"What has the King said about that?"

"So far there hasn't been anything official but we've heard that some top positions have come with that matter to the King. It's being talked."

"But?"

"But it's all just rumours right now and no-one knows anything. But the tribune workers have been acting prickly too. Maybe because they've been hit."

"That doesn't sound good at all."

"And many hellcats are starting to worry. And thinking about stopping but – can you imagine the machine stopping? Or falling apart?"

A shiver ran down both hellcats' spines before they shook their heads, to shake the feeling off.

"No. That's not going to happen. The King will get the advisors and top positions in the case before that. He hasn't failed the Underworld." Happy said finally, hoping his optimism would make true his words. "And, beyond that. How are the others?"

"They miss you. And worry a bit too. We all know how these missions are meant to be hard." Carla replied as she gazed at the river, seemingly distracted.

"Oh." Happy began. "I miss you guys too."

"And we wonder if this is going to make you raise a level. Who knows what your standing might be in, right?" She continued.

"I also wondered about that. And I worry because I didn't want to leave you guys behind. Still don't want to. Our team is… you know?" The blue cat said in a slightly beseeching tone.

"I know." Carla agreed, finally looking at Happy. "But, all in all, we just wanted to tell you that we're here with you. And we'll always support you."

Happy made a face.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, a sliver of worry starting to unravel in the back of his mind.

"Have you been here among the _humans_ for such a long time already that you don't see when friends are trying to be supportive of you and your actions?" She asked in mild affront as she stood on the branch, letting out a small huff.

"Hey! I didn't say anything about that!" Happy was quick to try to appease her. "You know that having you guys' support means a lot to me. Don't be like _that_!"

"Yeah, yeah…" Carla jumped up, gliding until she was at Happy's level. "Anyway, I better go back now. I made this detour because I both wanted to tell you about the rumours and to see you."

At that Happy flashed her a big grin.

"Thanks for coming," he said as he hopped up too. "Hope to see the others soon too." He added as they started to fly towards Natsu's building.

"You know the length of your mission. But I'll tell the others to try to visit you. We all miss you." Carla said with finality as she extended her paw.

Happy took it, voice catching in the back of his throat. They exchanged their secret handshake before Carla started flying downwards.

Happy returned to Natsu's apartment and to his other appearance. Deciding on getting food before returning to Natsu's bed. The rumours floating about that Carla had mentioned were worrying. And he felt sad, all of a sudden. He'd been working so much on his mission and in getting busy, following Natsu and whatnot, that he hadn't let himself think much about his friends or the consequences that the completion of the mission might have to him.

Was he ready to go to the next level and leave his friends behind?

* * *

The next couple of weeks didn't bring any answers to Happy. On the contrary. He started to see the evolution of the illness in Natsu.

It wasn't too apparent yet, but Happy could see that Natsu was starting to realize that there was something off with him.

* * *

Natsu woke up at his customary hour. The sun hadn't raised yet, but that was understandable given that it was winter. The grey light filtered through the blinds and Natsu started to lift himself onto his elbows, only to have a sudden wave of tiredness crash upon him and he fell down back to the mattress with a grunt.

He let himself stay on the bed, looking up towards the ceiling and frowning.

He'd been getting a strange feeling as of late. It was like sometimes he felt too tired, despite not having changed much of anything in his schedule. He still had classes and labs, as well as the workload associated with them; he still had his time hanging out with his friends; the time he spent with Happy and doing the work around the house.

But, every now and then, he would have to pause.

And that didn't seem too good. He'd mentioned the tiredness to Igneel and his father had urged him to go see a doctor. Of course that Natsu had dismissed it.

He was well. No need to see a doctor.

He was Natsu. Nothing bad was going to happen. He was sure of it.

So, he just continued. Or had continued so far. But when he woke up and would notice himself feeling weak he couldn't help but worry momentarily.

His strength and energy would quickly return, though, and Natsu would just continue with his day. Natsu was reminded of his father's "nagging" then for a moment but, he had to get up or his day would be ruined. He'd landed with a few strict teachers right in the early hours. Getting there late was always awful. And he'd never had much problem with getting there, until the moment when mornings started to get too tiring.

More days went by and Natsu's mornings became easier. His unexplained tiredness seemed to ease off a bit but, he and Gray got into an actual row.

Because Natsu had insulted Gray's area of study, his thesis actually.

Gray took it badly and stopped talking to him.

Natsu felt bad but, at the same time he knew he wasn't wrong. In his opinion Gray was just overanalysing one part that didn't matter all that much. It was as if Natsu made a great deal of doing a titration. It was something not all that difficult.

So, he felt like he was in the right. And if Gray had anything to say to it, well, tough luck.

And for the next few days it did seem that they were both going out of their way to stay out of the other's way. It was fine.

Of course that Erza wasn't having none of that.

So she blindsided both Natsu and Gray and made them sit and talk.

She even stood there, standing before them like a menacing statue that demanded amends to be made.

Silence and glares were exchanged until the moment Erza had enough and knocked their heads together.

"Talk now." she said in a commanding tone.

Both youths looked up at her, disgruntled.

"I don't have anything to say to him." Gray said first, looking pointedly into the other side.

"Neither have I." Natsu added.

"Look, you two are best friends. What has happened to change that?" Erza raised her hand as she saw that they were about to go on a rant, outraged looks in their faces. "I don't care what either of you has said to make your egos get that bruised but _get over it!_ It's not worth it." As both their expressions shifted to pouts she gave a small nod. "Now, talk and get it over. You are _friends_."

A beat and stubborn expressions returning had Erza take a step back and sighing.

"I can't make you guys do anything but… try? We miss you." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and took a good look at each of them. "So, when you do take care of this, come meet with us? We were planning on going to that new restaurant. Also, Levy has a new boyfriend now."

"Since when?"

"Oi?"

"Yeah. You probably know him. But you don't care about patching things up so you don't care about hanging out with us. Text me anyway." She threw over her shoulder as she walked away.

"What the hell?" Natsu muttered as he looked at Gray.

"I have no clue." Was the reply. And Gray was looking back at him, in slight shock.

It wasn't that there was anything amazing about the situation but… Levy had been in a pretty bad break up a few years ago, at the beginning of their friendship. And she'd decided to let that part not be important for a while, she'd closed her walls pretty tightly and only allowed her friends to see a certain side of her. For her to have taken that step, it meant that it was serious.

"I guess that explains why sometimes she was busy and couldn't hang out." Gray added.

"You know what? You're probably right. And maybe she wanted to tell us something but we…" Natsu's mouth shut with a near audible click.

An awkward silence settled over them. Gray made a sour face that prompted Natsu to speak.

"Look, Gray. I'm sorry." He coughed and continued on. "I know that I shouldn't have said those things. But, there was something in it that doesn't feel right – to me."

"You're wrong though?" Gray said tentatively. "Your background isn't enough to say stuff about my work to this degree. You don't know as much as I do about this. The same way I don't know about what you do."

"I get that. But from my standpoint it doesn't work. Still, I admit that I was out of line. Sorry." Natsu said everything in nearly one breath, the words mashing together, as he looked down at the ground.

"I accept your apology. Just… let's not get this, work, get in the way of our friendship when it's… when it has no point being something that creates a rift between us. Deal?" Gray extended his hand towards Natsu, waiting.

Natsu looked at it and then at Gray, a smile stretching his lips.

"Deal!" Natsu agreed as he grasped Gray's hand and shook it.

"Okay. We're back to normal. I guess it's time we go see the girls?" Gray offered as he stood and patted the dust from his trousers.

"Hell yeah! I'm gonna text Erza. I'm so curious about meeting Levy's boyfriend." Natsu said giddily as he also stood and got his phone out, quickly writing a text.

"Maybe we'll be able to go have dinner, all of us together again." Gray mused as he plunged his hands in his pockets.

"That would be awesome!" Natsu agreed, nodding enthusiastically as he read the reply. "Oh, she answered. Let's go meet them!"

* * *

Natsu wasn't happy.

He'd been bugged by his father for a while now to schedule a doctor's appointment to see if an explanation to his bouts of tiredness could be found.

It didn't help that Igneel, who had Erza's number, had used his powers for evil. He'd sicced her – and so, his other close friends too – onto his own son!

It was _evil_.

That was how he'd found himself finally making the appointment and they nearly had to drag him there.

Doctor Porlyusica was a no-nonsense lady and she ended up giving Natsu a too long list of exams and tests to make. After that, they were to schedule a new meeting so that she could give him some answers.

The day of their new meeting had come. And Natsu couldn't help but feel like he had a weight on his stomach.

As he entered the cabinet, the doctor was sitting at the desk, a set of the tests he'd done were spread out in front of her. She had a frown marring her expression, her lips set in a downturn.

"Doctor?" Natsu said as he entered further inside.

"Ah, Natsu. Please, do sit. I was taking a look at your exams. I'm afraid I don't have good news." She said with a sigh, looking straight at Natsu. "We are not sure yet, and we might need a new set of exams for that, but it looks like you have pancreatic cancer."

"W-what?" Was the only word Natsu could say, in a state of utter shock.

"I'm so sorry. But we will have to do more exams and decide on the best course of action then." She said in a neutral kind of voice. "We need to ascertain in which stage the cancer is as soon as possible and there is the possibility that it is already in stage II and so -"

She continued to talk but Natsu didn't pay it any mind. The world around him became muffled, the colour seemed to bleed out right before his eyes and a bubble of dread surrounded him.

He _had cancer_.

Pancreatic cancer.

That didn't sound good in the least. And he just couldn't think because his brain suddenly seemed like it had been stuffed with cotton balls.

He walked home as if in a trance, unmindful of the strange looks being sent his way, of the people parting so as to not collide with the zombie-walking young man.

Natsu gets home. His jacket, scarf, bag, shoes are mechanically disposed of by the door. A blank faced Natsu walks to the landline and disconnects it. His phone buzzes and the screen lights for a moment with a text. He has a lot of them unanswered, sitting on the screen. His friends don't know of the news. Natsu hasn't told them and doesn't want to. He just doesn't want to interact with them or anyone at the moment. He turns off his mobile phone too, discards of it on the side table.

Natsu just sits on the sofa, throwing a blanket over him and looking down to see Happy come to his lap, a small smile tugs at the corners of his lips momentarily. Then Natsu goes back to a neutral expression, back to staring blankly at the wall, cuddling and petting his cat.

* * *

Gray waits for Natsu on campus. He knows that his pink haired friend likes to come through the side of the building that is nearly engulfed by vegetation when he's feeling overwhelmed by something.

And there was something going on with Natsu – that was for sure.

Because it has been nearly two weeks since Natsu had made himself scarce. He'd been avoiding everyone since… he'd gone see the doctor. And this disappearance act he'd been doing didn't make it look like nothing was wrong, quite the opposite.

So Gray was waiting for Natsu. And if that meant cornering him so be it! Gray was going to get some answers.

Natsu didn't take long to appear but there was something different about him. It was as if that glow and warmth he usually exuded was missing. Natsu even seemed to be paler and trying to hide inside his clothes.

"Finally, you're here." Gray stood on Natsu's path, seeing as he seemed to recoil from Gray's voice. "Took you long enough."

"What are you doing here, Gray?" Natsu said while not looking into his eyes. There was also something in his tone that worried Gray, something akin to defeat. So very un-Natsu.

"What am I doing here? The question is more, what are _you_ doing here?" Gray asked as he squared his shoulders defiantly.

"You know that I usually come through here. As you decided to ambush me too." Was the slightly morose answer. With Natsu still not making eye contact.

"Cut the crap, Natsu. What the hell is going on with you? You've disappeared." Gray threw his hands up. "You don't answer our calls or reply to our texts. You don't even answer the door when I knock on it!"

"What's it to you?"

"You're my friend! And you're worrying me – and the girls." Gray said with open disbelief in his voice.

Natsu didn't say anything to that.

"I remember that you stopped answering after the appointment with the doctor. What happened?" Gray realized that he had to ask the questions directly.

"Nothing." Was the quick-fire answer.

"That's a lie and you know it." Gray nearly growled out the words.

Natsu looked up then, at Gray with a furious look. So much so that Gray felt himself taking a step back.

"You wanna know what it is?" Natsu nearly spat the words, his tone of voice rising. "Very well, I'll tell you." The words were said with such venom that Gray knew instantly that nothing good was coming. Natsu took a step forward, a dark aura almost surrounding him. "On that day I learned that I had pancreatic cancer and basically everything is useless!" He grasped the scarf around his neck and removed it savagely, throwing it at Gray. "And you come here and ask for those stupid, useless things and I don't-! I… I can't stand that!"

Natsu glared at Gray once more.

"So no, I don't want to talk to you or whatever and just get the fuck out of my way before I need to make you do it anyway!"

Gray was reeling.

He'd never seen Natsu like this but neither had ever been in such a situation and if Natsu needed to throw all his anger, fear and frustration at someone, he could be that someone.

"Natsu. I…" he started saying but words failed him. And then he took a step towards Natsu, closing in on him. Surprising even himself, Gray found his arms curling around Natsu in a tight embrace. "We're going to get through this together. I am here for you." The words stumbled out of his mouth before he could imprison them.

Natsu looked up, sharply. And then his hands held onto the fabric of Gray's shirt tightly. He made a noise in the back of his throat and rested his forehead on the crook between Gray's neck and shoulder. He started to tremble in Gray's embrace. Gray just tightened his arms around him.

"Come on. Let's go home now." Gray told Natsu as their embrace finished. Still Gray made sure to hold Natsu's hand.

They walked home, a weighted silence between them – but it wasn't all that uncomfortable. They only spoke again as Gray started to rummage in Natsu's pantry, looking for something to prepare for dinner.

It was a lot to take in still, Gray talked to Natsu and asked for more information. Natsu slowly seemed to relax, though he was still pretty tense while he explained things. He mentioned having talked to Igneel and how he'd had to stop him from deciding to come back to Magnolia. They shared a small smile over that as they sat on the sofa, Natsu's cat coming to sit on his owner's lap and being petted. He ended up finding some room between both their thighs, in the end. By then, the charged atmosphere lifted slightly, with them starting to talk about random things. Their friendship was bringing some normalcy to things.

Finally, Gray went home. His mind was filled with new information and he was also itching to boot his computer to go in search of answers to his questions. Even if he didn't completely expect to have all the answers handed to him. But… he needed context. And needed to see numbers.

A couple of hours had Gray sitting by the large window on the living room, deep in thought. It really was a lot he had to process. But…

There was one thing that was starting to worry him more. The lack of time.

What if the worst happened and Natsu _died_?

Gray couldn't take that. It was a thought that filled him with anguish, losing his best friend.

He stood and paced on the moonlight bathed square on the floor.

_No, no. That's impossible. He won't die. He can't_. He mumbled as he kept pacing, a knot starting to form in his throat. _He can't die because he's… he's…_

Gray stood frozen, eyes wide open and his breath catching in his throat. He set back into motion, leaning against the glass window pane, forehead pressing against the cold glass. Gray closed his eyes and exhaled. A hand rose to run through his hair but ended up grasping at the strands and he let out a choked noise. It was a mix between a chuckle and a sob. For a massive realization had crashed upon him, leaving him gasping in its wake, the noises resounding in his empty room.

Gray slid slowly until he was kneeling on the floor. Eyes looking, unseeing, at his numb hands.

_He can't go because then I won't have time to tell him…_ And that thought was it. Gray took a deep breath, closed his eyes and opened them as he straightened up. _Unless I do tell him._

His resolve strengthened, Gray went to bed.

He tossed and turned for a bit but the emotional strain finally caught up to him and so Gray fell into a dreamless sleep.

The next morning, Gray woke up with a purpose.

He hurried through his morning routine and hurried downstairs. Knocking on Natsu's door and hoping he would answer. Fortunately Natsu did answer. His mouth tilted slightly up, a small smile that made something in Gray's chest to loosen.

"Good morning. May I come in?" Gray asked and was instantly given permission. Natsu seemed to be having breakfast – a very weak breakfast to the usually endless pit Natsu was. "Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt your meal."

"Nah, don't worry about it. Do you want something?" Natsu asked as he positioned himself to go to the kitchen. But Gray stopped him with a hand on his arm.

"Maybe later. Now… there's something I wanted to tell you." His words had Natsu tensing slightly. But Gray manoeuvred them to the sofa, mimicking their positions just some hours ago. Natsu didn't exactly stop being tense. "It's nothing, well, it's nothing bad."

"Okay… so, what is it?" Natsu asked, arching an eyebrow and a small spark of the Natsu Gray knew resurfacing.

"Huh…" Gray started to say before pausing to clear his throat. "I know that this isn't exactly the best time or anything like that but… huh."

"Spit it out, ice brain." Natsu said.

"Well. I like you, Natsu." He could feel himself blush profusely.

Natsu's whole being seemed to freeze up, the way his character in the videogame did after being hit by the powers of Gray's character. He sat like that for what felt like an age, looking at the screen of the TV. Then he seemed to straighten up and turned to Gray, looking him right in the eyes but with the pink dusting of a blush on his cheeks.

"That's funny…" Natsu said with a snort. "Because I think I like you too."

Gray's mouth fell open and he shook his head to catch himself.

He held out his hand to Natsu. It was quickly grasped, Natsu holding it tightly.

And at that moment they didn't say a word but they knew what the other was thinking.

* * *

Happy had seen the whole scene, perched on the back of the sofa and in his common cat attire. He had been following Natsu more closely and the clash with Gray and what followed, while somehow expected, had taken a different turn.

There was a small pink flash of light around their intertwined hands but it was for such a small moment that Happy didn't pay it any mind.

More so when he had such an ominous feeling spreading throughout his insides. The deadline was approaching and he had an ever-growing weight settled on the pit of his stomach.

* * *

**A/N**: ...

I can stop here now, right? It's not like anyone is reading. Sounds about right.


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